(A)
Each person or government entity requesting a food service operation license or
the renewal of a license shall apply to the appropriate licensor on a form
provided by the licensor. Licensors shall use a form prescribed and furnished
to the licensor by the director of health or a form prescribed by the licensor
that has been approved by the director. The applicant shall include with the
application all information necessary for the licensor to process the
application, as requested by the licensor.

An application for a
food service operation license, other than an application for a mobile or
catering food service operation license, shall be submitted to the licensor for
the health district in which the food service operation is located. An
application for a mobile food service operation license shall be submitted to
the licensor for the health district in which the applicant's business
headquarters are located, or, if the headquarters are located outside this
state, to the licensor for the district where the applicant will first operate
in this state. An application for a catering food service operation license
shall be submitted to the licensor for the district where the applicant's base
of operation is located.

(B)
The licensor shall review all applications received. The licensor shall issue a
license for a new food service operation when the applicant submits a complete
application and the licensor determines that the applicant meets all other
requirements of this chapter and the rules adopted under it for receiving the
license. The licensor shall issue a renewed license on receipt of a complete
renewal application.

The licensor shall
issue licenses for food service operations on forms prescribed and furnished by
the director of health. If the license is for a mobile food service operation,
the licensor shall post the operation's layout, equipment, and menu on the back
of the license.

A mobile or catering
food service operation license issued by one licensor shall be recognized by
all other licensors in this state.

(1)
A food service operation license expires
at the end of the licensing period for which the license is issued, except as
follows:

(a)
A
license issued to a new food service operation after the first day of December
shall not expire until the end of the licensing period next succeeding issuance
of the license.

(b)
A
temporary food service operation license expires at the end of the period for
which it is issued.

(2)
All food service operation licenses remain valid until they are scheduled to
expire unless earlier suspended or revoked under section
3717.49 of the Revised Code.

(D)
A food
service operation license may be renewed, except that a temporary food service
operation license is not renewable. A person or government entity seeking
license renewal shall submit an application for renewal to the licensor not
later than the first day of March, except that in the case of a mobile or
seasonal food service operation the renewal application shall be submitted
before commencing operation in a new licensing period. A licensor may renew a
license prior to the first day of March or the first day of operation in a new
licensing period, but not before the first day of February immediately
preceding the licensing period for which the license is being renewed.

If a renewal
application is not filed with the licensor or postmarked on or before the first
day of March or, in the case of a mobile or seasonal food service operation,
the first day of operation in a new licensing period, the licensor shall assess
a penalty if the licensor charges a license renewal
fee. The amount of the penalty shall be twenty-five per cent of the
renewal fee , . If an applicant is subject to a penalty, the
licensor shall not renew the license until the applicant pays the penalty.

(1)
A licensor may issue not more than ten
temporary food service operation licenses per licensing period to the same
person or government entity to operate at different events within the
licensor's jurisdiction. For each particular event, a licensor may issue only
one temporary food service operation license to the same person or government
entity.

(2)
A
licensor may issue a temporary food service operation license to operate for
more than five consecutive days if both of the following apply:

(a)
The operation will be operated at an event organized by a county agricultural
society or independent agricultural society organized under Chapter 1711. of
the Revised Code;

(b)
The
person who will receive the license is a resident of the county or one of the
counties for which the agricultural society was organized.

(3)
A person
may be granted only one temporary food service operation license per licensing
period pursuant to division (E)(2) of this section.

(F)
The licensor may place restrictions or conditions on a food service operation
license limiting the types of food that may be prepared or served by the food
service operation based on the equipment or facilities of the food service
operation. Limitations pertaining to a mobile or catering food service
operation shall be posted on the back of the license.

(G)
The person or government entity holding a license for a food service operation
shall display the license for that food service operation at all times at the
licensed location. A person or government entity holding a catering food
service operation license shall also maintain a copy of the license at each
catered event.

(H)
With the
assistance of the department of health, the licensor, to the extent
practicable, shall computerize the process for licensing food service
operations.